nonmaleficencethat

Nonmalefencethat is not a standard term in ethics or medicine. The closest and established concept is nonmaleficence, a core principle in bioethics meaning the obligation to avoid causing harm. The phrase is commonly summarized as “do no harm,” and it traces to the Hippocratic tradition, later formalized in modern ethics as a negative duty to refrain from actions that could injure others.

In contemporary ethics, nonmaleficence is often paired with beneficence, the obligation to promote good. Together these principles guide decisions about treatment, research, and policy. Nonmaleficence requires professionals to minimize risks, prevent unnecessary injuries, and ensure that any harm caused by an action is justified by substantial potential benefits. It also encompasses duties such as safety precautions, accurate disclosure of risks, and ongoing assessment of harm.

Applications appear across medicine, healthcare, and research. Clinicians apply nonmaleficence when choosing diagnostic tests, medications, or procedures with favorable risk-benefit profiles. Researchers must design studies that minimize risk to participants and provide appropriate safeguards. In public health, nonmaleficence informs interventions that avoid disproportionate or avoidable harms to communities.

Limitations and tensions arise when harms are unavoidable or when protecting one person might harm another, or when patient autonomy conflicts with protective duties. The doctrine of double effect offers a framework for ethically permissible actions that cause harm as a side effect of achieving a greater good, under stringent conditions.

References to nonmaleficence are central to Beauchamp and Childress’s biomedical ethics framework and remain a foundational standard in professional guidelines, malpractice considerations, and ethical review processes. If you intended another term such as nonmaleficence, this article reflects that established concept.